Muslims have a great deal in common with other faiths, most notably Judaism and Christianity. You are right to assert that possessing , what some might term a ‘conservative moral outlook’, is now almost akin to carrying a National Socialist Party card. Followers of Judaism, Christianity and Islam share many values which they would like to see infused into the structural dynamics of UK society.

There is, however, one core difference between Judaism and Christianity on the one hand, and Islam on the other: whilst Jews and Christians might disapprove of loan defaulting, drug abuse, rape and drunkenness and even seek to legislate against such eventualities, unlike Muslims, they don’t believe that the major responsibilty of the state is to enforce Draconian laws to forbid such things. I too don’t believe I should be able to walk around topless (or worse), but I don’t want to be jailed or punished if I did. Rather, through education and a good upbringing centred around a strong family unit, I would hope that society and its members would inculcate values that armed citizens with the intelligence and wherewithall to view such actions through a moral prism. This, to me, seems closer to ‘Alaamah Mawdudi’s vision for Islamising society.

Islam seeks to ban things outright, including the discussion and consultation over whether such objectivally ambiguous actions ought to be banned. Many Muslims argue that Islam is not a duality of blacks and whites, where freedoms are ringfenced and liberty is what the Qur’an and Sunnah say it is. Ostensibly this is true, and Islam allows a considerable amount of flexibility according to the ‘limits’ outlined in its canonical texts. Yet, basing ones worldview on finite and fallible texts incompletely codexed some 1400 years ago cannot underpin a just, fair and equitable society in the 21st century.